The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest extant cat species and a member of the genus Panthera.

It
is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange-brown fur with a lighter underside. It is
an apex predator, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and
generally a solitary but social predator, requiring large contiguous areas of habitat, which support its
requirements for prey and rearing of its offspring. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two
years, before they become independent and leave their mother's home range to establish their own.
The tiger once ranged widely from the Eastern Anatolia Region in the west to the Amur River basin,
and in the south from the foothills of the Himalayas to Bali in the Sunda islands. Since the early 20th
century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and have been extirpated
in Western and Central Asia, from the islands of Java and Bali, and in large areas
of Southeast and South Asia and China. Today's tiger range is fragmented, stretching
from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian
subcontinent and Sumatra.
The tiger is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. As of 2015, the global wild tiger population
was estimated to number between 3,062 and 3,948 mature individuals, down from around 100,000
at the start of the 20th century, with most remaining populations occurring in small pockets isolated
from each other. Major reasons for population decline include habitat destruction, habitat
fragmentation and poaching. This, coupled with the fact that it lives in some of the more densely
populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans.
The tiger is among the most recognisable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It
featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore and continues to be depicted in modern films
and literature, appearing on many flags, coats of arms and as mascots for sporting teams. The tiger
is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea.

Etymology
The Middle English tigre and Old English tigras (plural)[4] derive from Old French tigre,
from Latin tigris. This was a borrowing of Classical Greek τίγρις 'tigris', a foreign borrowing of
unknown origin meaning 'tiger' as well as the river Tigris.[5] The origin may have been
the Persian word tigra meaning 'pointed or sharp', and the Avestan word tigrhi 'arrow', perhaps
referring to the speed of the tiger's leap, although these words are not known to have any meanings
associated with tigers.[6]
The generic name Panthera is derived from the Latin word panthera, and the Ancient Greek word
πάνθηρ 'panther'.[7] The Sanskrit word पाण्डर pāṇḍ-ara means 'pale yellow, whitish, white'.[8]

Taxonomy and genetics

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific
name Felis tigris.[2] In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species
under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris.[9][10]

Subspecies
Phylogenetic relationship of tiger populations based on Driscoll et al. (2009).[11]

Following Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several tiger specimens were described and
proposed as subspecies.[12] The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999. Most
putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on basis of fur
length and colouration, striping patterns and body size, hence characteristics that vary widely within
populations. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between
populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore,
it was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia,
and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands.[13]